Editors note: This is one in a series of profiles about key players involved in the drafting of Harrisburg's historic debt deal.

Some might say Harrisburg's Mayor-elect Eric Papenfuse was late to the city's debt resolution game, a rider of coattails after the hard work was done.

But it's more complicated than that.

It's true that Papenfuse was not running any of the machinery that eventually got the deal done. It's true he did not wield any institutional influence that could either make or break the deal. But his role was more than simply peripheral, more than basking in the reflected light of others.

Arguably, in the end, Papenfuse helped bring the people along.

But he was there in the beginning too, when things were bad.

Papenfuse got a brief peek behind the curtain of incinerator finances, when he was appointed to the board of the Harrisburg Authority as the last of the disastrous financings was being approved.

Rather than give his full-throated support to the additional debt, he quit in disgust.

Papenfuse became a voice of dissent, an original member of Debt Watch Harrisburg and a facilitator of the opposition by hosting meetings, debates and panel discussions at his Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg.

While people like Neil Grover and Bill Cluck became dogged attendees of public meetings, Papenfuse stayed closer to home, managing his successful business. He made a couple failed runs for public office, but was viewed by various people as idiosyncratic, thin-skinned and self-righteous.

As the financial sins of the Steve Reed administration became more widely understood after the forensic audit, there was some sense of vindication for Papenfuse, and his political star began to rise with the receiver's effort to set the ledger straight.

Going into 2013, the presumptive favorite for the next mayor was city Controller Dan Miller, but Miller had spent three years in messy political trench warfare opposing Mayor Linda Thompson, and it had taken a toll.

Miller, a certified public accountant who publicly favored bankruptcy as a solution to the city's problems, had inadvertently acquired the aura of "the guy who says no."

In a surprise move, Papenfuse announced his candidacy, exploiting the "Miller-fatigue" and branding himself a "the guy who says yes."

Papenfuse's relative reclusiveness meant he didn't have as many enemies as Miller, but he also worked hard to build bridges — however expedient they might be — between different factions within the city. He even won the support of some of Reed's old cronies. And he spent loads and loads of money, airing television commercials for the first time ever in a mayoral campaign, and pushing campaign expenses to an all-time record high.

At the center of Papenfuse's platform: support for the receiver and his debt deal.

Neil Grover served as counsel to the campaign, so Papenfuse had an insider on staff and was able to articulate goals of the receiver's plan with some nuance.

Papenfuse successfully branded himself the candidate who represented a new era in city politics, the man who fully embraced the receiver's plan and who therefore could lead the city into a bright new future.

In the end, a majority of city voters said yes.

The people — most of those who vote, anyway — approved the receiver's deal.

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.